Brockton councilors delay decision on police commissioner ordinance

Wednesday

Feb 5, 2014 at 12:12 AMFeb 5, 2014 at 12:19 AM

The City Council's Ordinance Committee began deliberating legislation that would create a civilian police commissioner position to head the city's Police Department, but postponed further action on the item due to concerns about the legislation.

Staff Reporter

BROCKTON – Mayor Bill Carpenter might convince the City Council to eventually pass an ordinance allowing him to name interim Police Chief Robert Hayden as the city's civilian police commissioner, but it won't be the ordinance that councilors deliberated Tuesday night.During a two-hour Ordinance Committee meeting in a packed City Council chamber, the five councilors on the committee raised a number of concerns with the ordinance before they ultimately decided to postpone further action on the legislation until their next meeting.

Among the concerns raised by councilors were the cost of the change, the lack of a residency requirement in place for a commissioner and if the ordinance could be used in the future.

"What you have proposed, so far, is costing the city money, and I'm not saying that it's not a good investment, but it is costing the city a significant amount of money," Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart said about Carpenter's proposed ordinance.

Under the ordinance, a commissioner would receive an annual salary of $149,000 plus benefits.

That salary would be in addition to the $72,812.74 that Capt. Emanuel Gomes will receive over the next two years to compensate him for the final year he had remaining on his contract as chief. Gomes will receive that money in addition to the salary he receives in his role as captain.

While speaking before the committee, Councilor-at-large Robert Sullivan described the economic situation surrounding the ordinance as "asinine."

"We're paying for two people to do the same job, in essence," Sullivan said.

Stewart also raised a concern that there was no residency requirement included within the ordinance, but Carpenter countered that one was not included because he felt it was unnecessary based on the length of the commissioner's appointment.

"This is a temporary appointment to serve a term of no more than 12 months, so even under the city's residency ordinance, any new employee is allowed 12 months to relocate to city," Carpenter said.

However, during the hearing, Stewart recommended that a residency requirement be added to the legislation in case a commissioner were to be appointed to more than one consecutive term.

A number of councilors also raised questions about adding a "sunset provision" to the ordinance over concerns about how the ordinance could be used by mayors in the future.

A sunset provision is a clause in a piece of legislation that states after a certain length of time or after a certain event, the legislation ceases to be in effect and the law reverts to what it was previously.

Throughout the meeting, Carpenter repeatedly told councilors that he was only seeking the ordinance to make Hayden the head of the Police Department for one 12-month term, and, as such, he had no issue with including a sunset provision in the ordinance.

Carpenter needs the ordinance to name Hayden the head of the department in order to circumvent a state law that requires police officers, including chiefs, to retire at age 65.

Carpenter even proposed his own amendment during the meeting, which would sunset the ordinance once the "position of Commissioner of Police becomes vacant, either as a result of death, resignation or retirement."

To that end, Carpenter also stated his intention to have Hayden help him select the department's next chief to further reiterate that Hayden's tenure as commissioner would be a one-time instance.

"It is my full intention upon Mr. Hayden completing his service to appoint a uniformed chief of police that I hope will come from the ranks of the Brockton Police Department," Carpenter said.

Edward Donga may be reached at edonga@enterprisenews.com.

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